A/HRC/39/CRP.2 and the “NVC” are a symbol of a discriminatory citizenship regime that only serves to further entrench their status as “immigrants”. (c) Denial of political participation 489. In the past, Rohingya have been allowed to participate in political processes. They were able to vote and stand for election in the 1990 parliamentary elections, and four Rohingya were elected as members of Parliament. In 2010, despite the Rohingya not officially being considered citizens, several laws were adopted to allow white card holders to participate in the political process. Three Rohingya were elected to Parliament and two to the Rakhine State Government. 490. However, in March 2014, Parliament amended the Political Parties Registration law to require leaders of political parties to be “full” citizens and members of parties to be “full” or “naturalized” citizens.1090 Although, Parliament approved a bill in February 2015 which included a provision allowing white card holders to vote, on 11 February, following a public outcry, the then President Thein Sein issued an order stating that white cards would expire on 31 March 2015 and had to be returned by 31 May 2015. The Constitutional Court further ruled that the legislative provisions allowing white card holders to vote were unconstitutional, and the Parliament amended the election laws, removing white card holders from those eligible to participate in elections. 1091 This disenfranchised all white card holders, the vast majority of whom were Rohingya, from participation in the 2015 general elections. (d) Conclusion 491. The Rohingya have gradually been denied birth registration, citizenship and membership of the political community. This lack of legal status and identity is the cornerstone of the oppressive system targeting the Rohingya. It is the consequence of the discriminatory and arbitrary use of laws to target an ethnic group and deprive its members of the legal status they once possessed. It is State-sanctioned and in violation of Myanmar’s obligations under international law because it discriminates on the basis of race, ethnicity and religion. It has a profound impact on the enjoyment of all other human rights. 492. Myanmar’s legal framework pertaining to citizenship, and its application to the Rohingya in particular, is contrary to the prohibition of racial discrimination, both in the way it defines “citizens” and in its attribution of rights to distinct classes of citizens. Membership of a “national race” has been made the key criterion of citizenship. All others, including those who were born and lived in the country for generations, were gradually excluded. This extreme and narrow focus on ethnicity, and its arbitrary application in practice, has been profoundly discriminatory in intent, purpose and impact. 493. The treatment of the Rohingya constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of nationality. It is in violation of domestic laws. There was no permissible ground of revocation. The denial of nationality is based on prohibited racial grounds. It has resulted in large-scale statelessness, while it serves no discernible legitimate purpose. 494. The treatment further violates the right of every child to acquire a nationality, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless. Where a child is born to stateless parents on the territory of a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the State of birth is required to grant nationality. The right to a nationality as articulated in article 7 of the Convention would otherwise be meaningless. 1092 Its practice of not issuing birth certificates to Rohingya children and not granting nationality or appropriate documentation to children born on its territory is a violation of the Convention. The practice also has rendered children extremely vulnerable to other severe human rights violations. It deprives Rohingya children of a permanent record of existence and legal identity. It negatively impacts their access to health, education and other services. It deprives them of adequate protection. 1090 1091 1092 118 The amendments came into effect in September 2014. The Carter Center, “Preliminary Findings of the Carter Center Expert Mission to Myanmar – AprilJuly 2015”. A/HRC/13/34, para. 36; A/HRC/10/34, para. 64.